4 Manual Lathe Common Accidents to Prevent

A manual lathe is a power tool, and like all tools must be handled respectfully and carefully in order to avoid injury. In order to get the best from your manual lathe, you should try and prevent the most common accidents, all of which are easily avoidable, but which still happen regularly to lathe users. Most accidents happen due to accidents in using home improvement tools, from hammers and stepladders to serious machines like the manual lathe. In order to take care of yourself while using the lathe, focus on safety, and don't become complacent about the power of the machine.

Basic Safety

The most common manual lathe accidents happen because people don't pay attention to the lathe. If you want to get the best from the device, make sure that you are wearing safety gloves and goggles before you begin. The goggles should be thick enough to completely cover the eye, even from the side. The gloves should be specially toughened, and preferably leather rather than cloth. This is to help avoid casual nicks and scrapes. When you are ready to go up to the lathe, remove any jewellery, roll up sleeves, and tuck shirts or t-shirts into trousers. Long hair should also be tied back, away from the lathe. Check yourself before proceeding, and look for anything that might be caught around the lathe, removing it before going to work.

Slicing Accidents

The most common accidents on the manual lathe are slicing accidents. These happen when you are not paying full attention to the movement of the lathe, or if you are simply not cautious enough. When putting a piece of wood through the lathe, keep fingers well behind the cutting line of the blade. It is better to hold the wood in place with fingertips, rather than placing the hand on top of the wood. People often underestimate the power of the lathe, and hands can be sucked into the device in an instant.

Accidents with the Wood

The wood which is being cut is another source of potential injury. If the wood is not of the best quality, you may find that it can break easily. This has two consequences. Firstly, the wood is moving at a high speed, so may fly off in different directions, including into the body or neck of the wood worker, and secondly the person using the lathe may find that their hand is caught by the lathe as the wood breaks, resulting in cutting or slicing injuries.

Blunt Tools

You may think that the sharpness of the lathe's blade poses a significant risk, and you would be right, but a blunt tool is a far more dangerous object, as the cut will not be true, and you may find your wood moves violently when being cut by a blunt blade. In order to ensure that the blade is working well, you will need to have it as sharp as possible.